Method for inspecting a weld seam in a workpiece made of weldable plastic and device for carrying out this method

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to an inspection method for inspecting the quality of a weld seam ( 15 ) during which a material, which is transparent to electromagnetic radiation ( 30 ) of a defined frequency, is used in a workpiece ( 10 ) consisting of two plastic parts ( 11, 12 ). In order to be able to reliably inspect the weld seam, the invention provides that an electromagnetic inspection radiation ( 30 ) is irradiated inside the workpiece ( 10 ). The resulting reflections between the boundary surfaces in the workpiece ( 10 ) and the portions of inspection radiation ( 30, 30 ′) exiting from the workpiece ( 10 ) are affected by the quality of the produced weld seam ( 15 ). By measuring the exiting radiation ( 33, 33 ′), it can be clearly determined whether the workpiece ( 10 ) has a defective or a tolerable seam ( 15 ).

[0001] The invention concerns, first of all, an inspection method of the type specified in the introductory clause of Claim 1. The weld seam between the two materials is produced by a laser beam. One of the plastic materials of which the workpiece is made is essentially transparent to this laser radiation, whereas the other plastic material absorbs the laser radiation.

[0002] In the previously known method of this type, the inspection was performed with a pyrometer, which responds to the thermal radiation emitted by the weld seam that has been produced. For the pyrometer to reach the highest possible temperature, the measurement must be made during welding. In addition, the material of which one of the plastic parts is made must be capable of transmitting thermal radiation.

[0003] Laser radiation has proven to be very effective for welding plastics. There are three welding methods for laser radiation, namely, “track welding”, “simultaneous welding”, and “quasi-simultaneous welding”. Pyrometric inspection of the weld seam is possible only with track welding and cannot be used in simultaneous welding or quasi-simultaneous welding, although the latter provides a time advantage over track welding. In the case of a welded product produced by the simultaneous welding method, inspection of the welded materials could be made only indirectly, by dimensional changes in the workpiece and could only be used with certain workpiece geometries. The quality of a simultaneous weld or quasi-simultaneous weld generally could not be inspected.

[0004] The pyrometric weld inspection possible in the case of track welding is also subject to error and can be used only if the material of one of the plastic parts transmits not only laser radiation but also thermal radiation. Therefore, in many cases, weld inspection of the finished workpiece is not possible at all.

[0005] In one well-known method of a different type (DE 196 03 675 A1), the weld joint is produced by contact welding of two superimposed plastic sheets from which a bag is to be produced. Each of the two plastic sheets itself consists of two layers, namely, a transparent, infusible outer support layer and a colored inner sealing layer. The contacting sealing layers of the two sheets are welded together by two heated sealing jaws pressing against each other. As a result of the weld joint on the colored sealing layers, the transparency of the weld seams changes relative to places that were not welded or were not adequately welded. These transparency differences are determined by a light transmission method and used to inspect the quality of the weld joints. The two sheets are transilluminated in the region of the weld seam by a light source, and the light emerging at the other side of the sheet is detected by a sensor and analyzed. This well-known method cannot be applied to weld seams produced by laser radiation, because one of the plastic parts of this welded product is absorbent and therefore opaque.

[0006] In another method for inspecting weld seams in bags produced from two sheets, which are then to be immediately filled with some substance (U.S. Pat. No. 5,260,766 A), laser light is projected into a transparent heated seal bar through a large number of glass fibers. In this way, the light reaches the contact area between this heated seal bar and an opposing bar, between which the two sheets are positioned and sealed. The light reflected from this contact area must pass back through the transparent material of the heated seal bar to produce an image, which is picked up by a camera and analyzed to determine whether particles of the material used to fill the bag are enclosed in the weld seam. This makes it possible to determine the quality of the weld seam. This method can be used only with thin flat sheets in which linear weld seams are formed and requires a transparent welding tool. It cannot be applied to the laser welding of three-dimensional plastic parts with two-dimensional or three-dimensional weld seams, especially if two plastics with different optical and/or mechanical properties are to be welded together.

[0007] Furthermore, it is also well known (DE 298 16 401 U1) that a transillumination technique can be used to detect cracks in a welded lap joint produced by the lap welding of sheets. In this method, the weld seam is placed between an optical transmitter and an optical receiver. To increase the accuracy of the measurement, this transillumination technique is carried out in a liquid with an extremely low viscosity. This method is not suitable for the inspection of weld seams produced by laser radiation between two plastic parts, one of which is absorbent.

[0008] Finally, it is well known (JP 10[1998]-100,259 A, Patent Abstracts of Japan, Vol. 1998, No. 09, Jul. 31, 1998) that two similar polyethylene materials can be irradiated with broadband infrared radiation. As long as the resulting weld seam is in the liquid state, the infrared radiation reflected by the liquid or passing through the liquid is optically detected and analyzed. A laser beam is not used. Inspection radiation is not used in addition to the infrared radiation, so it does not matter whether one of the polyethylene materials is transparent to inspection radiation.

[0009] The objective of the invention is to develop a reliable inspection method of the type specified in the introductory clause of Claim 1, which avoids the aforementioned disadvantages of the state of the art. In accordance with the invention, this objective is achieved by the measures specified in the characterizing clause of Claim 1, which have the special significance described below.

[0010] In the interior of the welded product, reflections of the inspection radiation occur at all material interfaces between the two plastic parts of the workpiece, and, in accordance with the invention, the reflections of the inspection radiation from the already solidified, finished weld seam are analyzed. If the weld seam that has been produced turns out differently from the previously determined ideal state, i.e., if the weld seam is imperfect, the radiation emerging from the workpiece is significantly changed. The quality of the weld seam can be clearly determined in this way. An evaluation unit detects the inspection radiation emerging from the welded workpiece and triggers suitable reactions in the event of problems with the measured inspection radiation due to an imperfect weld.

[0011] The invention proposes two different measures as inspection radiation, each of which has independent inventive significance. One possibility, in accordance with Claim 2, consists in using additional radiation, that is completely independent of the laser radiation, for the inspection. It is only necessary to select as the inspection radiation an electromagnetic frequency at which at least one of the two plastic parts is transparent to this inspection radiation. These measures can then be used not only during the welding operation itself, but also later on the finished welded product.

[0012] In accordance with Claim 3, however, it is especially advantageous to use the laser radiation used to produce the weld seam as the inspection radiation. The measurement then detects the radiation emanating from an already solidified area of the resulting weld seam. This is possible, because the laser radiation reaching the interior of the workpiece is scattered inside the workpiece, and by suitably offsetting the detector, the area that is detected is some distance from the focus of the laser beam. The laser radiation that has already been repeatedly scattered in the laser-welded workpiece is used for the inspection. In this way, one obtains results based on reflections after solidification of the weld seam. When an unsatisfactory result is obtained, the defective workpiece can be removed immediately.

[0013] The invention also concerns a device for carrying out the method. The measures incorporated in the design of this device are specified in Claim 9. This device has a variety of uses and is especially well suited for regulating the laser light.

[0014] Additional measures and advantages of the invention are apparent from the dependent claims, the following description, and the drawings. Several embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the drawings.

[0015]FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an example of a welded product, namely, a transponder integrated in a two-layer workpiece.

[0016]FIG. 2 shows a first, photometric method for inspecting the quality of a weld seam.

[0017]FIG. 3 shows the operating principle of the method used in FIG. 2, when there is no weld seam between the two plastic parts of the workpiece.

[0018]FIG. 4 shows, in a representation analogous to FIG. 3, the conditions that exist, when a weld seam has formed between the two plastic parts.

[0019]FIG. 5 shows another method of inspection in accordance with the invention for determining the quality of the weld seam.

[0020]FIG. 6 shows a schematic longitudinal cross section through a device for another embodiment of the inspection method of the invention.

[0021]FIG. 7 shows an enlarged section of the workpiece indicated in FIG. 6, on the basis of which the special manner of operation of this method will be explained.

[0022] The workpiece 10 shown in FIG. 2 consists of two plate-like plastic parts 11, 12, which, at least in certain places between them, have a contact surface 13, on which a weld seam 15 is to be formed. An example of a finished welded product of this type is illustrated in FIG. 1.

[0023] For better recognition of the parts, the upper plastic part 11 is shown as transparent in FIG. 1 to allow a view of its contact surface 13 with the other plastic part 12 beneath it. The second plastic part 12 has a seat 14 for holding a plate-shaped transponder 16, which is able to receive, store, and transmit electronic data. A transponder of this type is temperature-sensitive and must be protected from environmental influences, such as moisture. The inserted transponder 16 is enclosed here by an annular weld seam 15, which joins the two layers of plastic 11, 12 in the area of the contact surface 13. This weld seam 15 provides media-tight enclosure of the transponder inside the workpiece 10.

[0024]FIG. 2 shows a first method for both producing and inspecting a weld seam 15 of this type. This is accomplished with a combined device 40 for producing and directing a laser beam 20, which is shown as a shaded arrow. The laser beam is produced in a semiconductor laser module 21. The laser beam 20 strikes a deflecting mirror 22, which is transparent to another, especially electromagnetic, beam 30, whose formation will be described in greater detail below. As the beam path in FIG. 2 shows, the laser beam 20 strikes two movable beam-deflecting mirrors 23, 24. These two mirrors 23, 24 are moved in a well-defined way to direct the laser beam 20 to the workpiece 10 through a theta objective 35. With the two mirrors 23, 24, the weld seam 15 can be produced by the simultaneous welding method mentioned at the beginning, which can be carried out especially fast and inexpensively. The two plastic parts 11, 12 of the workpiece have the following properties in this case:

[0025] The material 18 of the first plastic part 11 is essentially transparent to the laser beam 20, but the material 19 of the second plastic part 12 absorbs the laser beam 20. The transparent plastic may consist of an amorphous material and thus cause little scattering. However, the plastic 18 may also be semicrystalline, i.e., it may have a large scattering effect. This causes liquefaction of the two plastic materials 18, 19 in some areas of the contact surface 13. The enlargement in FIG. 4 shows what happens in the workpiece 10. FIG. 4 shows the cross section of the resulting weld seam 15, which consists of a mixture of the two starting materials 18, 19. As FIG. 4 shows, compared to the original contact surface 13, another interface 25 forms relative to the two plastic materials 18, 19, which remain unmixed and enclose the interface 25.

[0026] Next to the workpiece 10, there is a source 31 for electromagnetic radiation 30, which is independent of the laser beam 20 and hereinafter will be referred to simply as “inspection radiation” for reasons that will become apparent. As FIG. 2 illustrates, this inspection radiation 30 is introduced into the workpiece 10 at a suitable angle 26 to the laser beam 20 entering from the combination device 40. In the present case, the plastic material 18 of the upper layer 11 should also be transparent to the inspection radiation 30. What then happens is explained in greater detail below with reference to FIG. 3, on the one hand, and to FIG. 4, on the other hand.

[0027]FIG. 3 shows the conditions in the workpiece 10, when, in the extreme case, no welding of the plastic parts 11, 12 occurs at their contact surface 13. In the interior 27 of the workpiece 10, the inspection radiation 30 experiences multiple reflections 32 between the contact surface 13 and the outer surface 17. A portion of the reflected radiation 32 striking the outer surface 17 exits, as the arrows 33 in FIG. 3 show, and is gathered by the theta objective 35 of the device 40 of FIG. 2. As FIG. 2 makes clear, this exiting inspection radiation 33 travels along the segments 28, 29 of the optical path in the device 40 that the laser beam 20 follows. However, due to the transparency of the deflecting mirror 22 to the inspection radiation, this radiation passes through the deflecting mirror 22 and a lens 34 and reaches a sensor 36, which is connected to an evaluation unit 37. The evaluation unit 37 detects the measured inspection radiation 33 and triggers the desired reactions in devices 38 connected at its output end as a function of the detected radiation 33. In the present case, the device 38 is a monitor, whose screen displays the quality of the weld seam 15 that has been produced in the workpiece 10.

[0028] If a weld seam 15 is present in the area of the workpiece 10 that is being covered, then, depending on the condition of the weld seam, the special conditions shown in FIG. 4 result. In front of the weld seam 15, the reflected radiation 32 and the exit radiation 33 described above remain the same relative to the angle of incidence of the inspection radiation 30, but after the weld seam 15, the reflected radiation 32′ and exit radiation 33′ deviate significantly. The rough interface 25 in the region of the weld seam 15, where diffuse scattering 32″ occurs, contributes to this deviation.

[0029] This has the result that the area covered by the device 40 in FIG. 2 produces cumulative exit radiation 33′ that differs significantly in FIG. 4 from that which is produced in the corresponding area without a weld seam in the workpiece 10 in FIG. 3. Multiple reflections occur in the transparent plastic 11 and possibly also in the area of the weld seam 15. The region of the exit radiation of interest 33′ can be detected by adjusting the optics. This is accomplished by a sensor 36, whose output is connected to an evaluation unit 37. The measurement result is displayed on a display device 38. The use of the method of the invention showed that even small deviations from the reference value in the formation of the weld seam 15 can be clearly detected. Therefore, workpieces with weld seams 15 that are within tolerance can be clearly distinguished from those to be regarded as rejects.

[0030] The method described above can be used not only for workpieces 10 in which the weld seam is formed by laser radiation, but also in workpieces in which the weld seams are produced by any other desired method, e.g., friction welding or ultrasonic welding. Moreover, the method of the invention does not have to be used at the same time as the welding operation, because, in contrast to the state of the art, the thermal radiation emitted by the weld seam is not used for the measurement. As was explained above, this method uses inspection radiation 30 that is completely independent of the thermal radiation and can be used at any time. This can be done, for example, with the additional method of the invention shown in FIG. 5.

[0031] In FIG. 5, analogous parts are indicated by the same reference numbers as in the preceding embodiment, and to this extent, the preceding description also applies here. It will only be necessary to describe the differences.

[0032] In FIG. 5, the workpiece 10 previously described in connection with FIG. 1 is being inspected with respect to the quality of the weld seam 15 produced in it. The inspection radiation 30 can act on the workpiece 10 from several sides. Therefore, as FIG. 5 illustrates, several radiation sources 31 can be used. In FIG. 5, the inspection radiation 30 is directed at the workpiece 10 from all sides. Depending on the quality of the weld seam 15, there are differences in the radiation 33 exiting the workpiece 10. In FIG. 5, this radiation 33 is detected by a CCD camera 39, which receives an image of the weld seam 15. The image is analyzed in the associated evaluation unit 37 by image-processing software. A suitably intensified and enlarged image 41 of the weld seam 15 previously produced in the workpiece 10 then appears on the display device 38. Depending on the result of the image 41, suitable reactions can then be carried out by monitoring personnel or by an automatic monitoring unit.

[0033]FIG. 6 shows a processing head 50, which can be moved relative to a workpiece 10 in the directions indicated by the two arrows 42. A semiconductor laser module not shown in FIG. 6 produces a laser beam 20, which enters the processing head 50 by an entrance 61, specifically, a beam waveguide, and is indicated by solid arrows in FIG. 6. The laser beam 20 is collimated by a lens 45, passes through two mirrors 43, 44 and is bundled by a collimator 46 and focused on a well-defined area at 47. As the enlargement in FIG. 7 shows, the focus 47 is then located on the contact surface 13 between the two plastic parts 11, 12 already described in connection with FIGS. 3 and 4, of which the upper part 11 is made of a plastic material 18 that is transparent or either slightly or strongly scattering. The critical factor is that the plastic part 12 consists of a plastic material 19 that absorbs the laser radiation 20. The wavelength of this laser radiation 20 can be about 800-940 nm.

[0034] A melt 48 of both materials 18, 19 forms in the area of the focus 47. During the movement 42 of the workpiece 10 relative to the processing head 50, the focus 47 moves along the workpiece, and the melt gradually undergoes solidification 49. The weld seam 15 forms in this way. At the same time, the laser light 20 in the interior of the transparent or slightly scattering material 18 of the first plastic part 11 is scattered in analogy to FIGS. 2 and 4. The scattered radiation is illustrated by solid arrows 52. By repeated reflections, the scattered radiation 52 also reaches a specific inspection point 57, which is located at a well-defined distance 51 from the focus 47. After repeated scattering 52, exit radiation 53 emerges, which is indicated by short-dash lines in FIGS. 6 and 7. The exit radiation 53 emerging from the inspection point 57 is detected by the optical component 46 and collimated. The exit radiation 53 passes through the lower mirror 44 but is reflected by the upper mirror 43 and finally reaches a detector 55. The detector 55 is offset 54 relative to a central axis that defines the optical beam path, but is not shown in the drawing. This offset 54 takes into account the above-mentioned distance 51 of the observed inspection point 57 from the melting point 48. The same process occurs at the detector that has already been described in connection with the first embodiment, following the sensor 36.

[0035] The processing head 50 also has a radiation source 31 for electromagnetic inspection radiation 30 that is independent of the laser light, and has a wavelength of, for example, 750-800 nm. This processing head 50 thus makes it possible, as an alternative to or in addition to the above-described inspection based on the exit radiation 53 of the welding beam 20, to perform an inspection that is independent of that method of inspection. This inspection can also be made by means of a detector 55 that detects the above-described inspection point 57 in the workpiece 10. An optical component 56 focuses and collimates the exit radiation 53 and the inspection radiation 30, respectively.

[0036] Finally, a pyrometer 58 is also integrated in the processing head 50. The pyrometer 58 detects the thermal radiation, which is indicated in FIG. 6 by dotted arrows 60, after the thermal radiation passes through an optical component 59. The thermal radiation 60 is emitted by the weld. This is used to regulate the melt temperature. At the same time, the welding result can be inspected by the inspection radiation 30, whose exit radiation 33, 33′ from the inspection point 57 is detected by the detector 55. The processing head 50 can thus cover all three of the methods described above for inspecting the resulting weld seam 15 or weld 47. These measurement results are then analyzed either together or separately in connected devices.

[0037] The pyrometer 58 can be integrated with the source of the laser light 20 in a feedback control system. The thermal radiation emitted by the weld 47 is detected by the pyrometer 58 and analyzed in the connected devices. In the event of deviations from a desired reference value, the result of the analysis is used to regulate the intensity of the laser light 20.

[0038] The above-described components integrated in the processing head 50 may also be housed in individual units. These individual units are then placed together to form groups of units.

List of Reference Numbers

[0039]10 workpiece

[0040]11 first plastic part of 10

[0041]12 second plastic part of 10

[0042]13 contact surface between 11, 12

[0043]14 seat in 12 for 16

[0044]15 weld seam between 11, 12

[0045]16 transponder

[0046]17 outer surface of 11

[0047]18 first plastic material of 11

[0048]19 second plastic material of 12

[0049]20 laser beam, laser radiation

[0050]21 semiconductor laser module for 10

[0051]22 deflecting mirror for 21 and transparent mirror for 33

[0052]23 first radiation deflecting mirror for 20, 33

[0053]24 second radiation deflecting mirror for 20, 33

[0054]25 rough interface of 15 with 11 (FIG. 4)

[0055]26 angle between 20, 33 (FIG. 2)

[0056]27 interior of 10

[0057]28 first segment of 20 in 40

[0058]29 second segment of 20 in 40

[0059]30 electromagnetic radiation, inspection radiation

[0060]31 radiation source for 30

[0061]32 reflection of 30 in 27 (without weld seam)

[0062]32′ reflection of the inspection radiation after the weld seam 15

[0063]32″ diffuse scattering at the rough interface 25 of the weld seam 15

[0064]33 exit radiation from 17 (without weld seam)

[0065]33′ exit radiation with a weld seam (FIG. 4)

[0066]34 lens for 33

[0067]35 theta objective of 40

[0068]36 sensor for 33

[0069]37 evaluation unit for 33

[0070]38 display device, monitor

[0071]39 CCD camera

[0072]40 combined device

[0073]41 image of 15 on 38 (FIG. 5)

[0074]42 movement of 50 relative to 10 (FIG. 6)

[0075]43 upper semitransparent mirror

[0076]44 lower semitransparent mirror

[0077]45 lens, optical component

[0078]46 collimator, optical component

[0079]47 weld, focus of 20 in 10

[0080]48 melt consisting of 18, 19 (FIG. 7)

[0081]49 solidification of 48

[0082]50 processing head (FIG. 6)

[0083]51 distance between 47, 57 (FIG. 7)

[0084]52 scattered radiation in 18 (FIG. 7)

[0085]53 exit radiation from 18 (FIGS. 6, 7)

[0086]54 offset of 55

[0087]55 detector for 53

[0088]56 optical component for 30, 53

[0089]57 inspection point at 15

[0090]58 pyrometer

[0091]59 optical component

[0092]60 thermal radiation from 47 (FIG. 6)

[0093]61 entrance for 20 (FIG. 6) 

1. Method for inspecting a weld seam (15) between two plastic parts (11, 12) of a workpiece (10) that are made of weldable material (18, 19), such that the weld seam (15) is produced by a laser beam (20), one of the plastic parts (11) of the workpiece (10) is essentially transparent to the laser radiation (20), whereas the other plastic part (12) absorbs the laser radiation (20), and the quality of the weld seam (15) produced in this way is determined by optical means, characterized by the fact that, after the weld seam (15) has been produced by the laser beam (20), electromagnetic inspection radiation is used; that one of the two plastic parts (11, 12) of the workpiece (10) is also transparent to the inspection radiation (30); that the inspection radiation (30) is introduced into the interior of this transparent plastic part (11) and strikes the already solidified weld seam (15), such that the inspection radiation (30) is reflected (32; 52) both at the contact surfaces (13) between the plastic parts (11, 12) and at the interface (25) of the weld seam (15) and is partly transmitted (33, 33′; 53) back out of the workpiece (10); that, during the measurement of this exit radiation, only the reflected exit radiation (33′; 53) from an already solidified (49) point (57) of the weld seam (15) that has been produced is detected and supplied to an evaluation unit (37); that the inspection radiation (33′; 53) exiting the workpiece (10) travels to the measuring point (36; 55) along a segment (29, 28) of the same optical path that the laser light (20) follows in the opposite direction to the weld (15; 47) in the workpiece (10); and that the disturbance of the measured exit radiation (33′; 53) caused by an imperfect weld (15) is detected by the evaluation unit (37), which triggers reactions (38).
 2. Method in accordance with claim 1, characterized by the fact that additional radiation (30) that is independent of the laser radiation (20) is used as the inspection radiation.
 3. Method in accordance with claim 1, characterized by the fact that the inspection radiation is emitted by the same source (61) that produces the laser beam (20) used to produce the weld seam (15).
 4. Method in accordance with claim 3, characterized by the fact that, although the measured exit radiation (53) is the very laser radiation (20) that is scattered (52) in the workpiece (10), it originates from a point (57) that is spatially distant (51) from the focus (47) of the laser beam (20), at which the liquid melt (48) is currently located.
 5. Method in accordance with claim 1 or claim 2, characterized by the fact that the direction of incidence of the inspection radiation (30) on the workpiece (20) is at an angle (26) to the direction of incidence of the laser beam (20).
 6. Method in accordance with claim 1, claim 2, or claim 3, characterized by the fact that the direction of incidence of the inspection radiation (30) on the workpiece is coaxial to the direction of incidence of the laser beam (20).
 7. Method in accordance with any of claims 1 to 6, characterized by the fact that the workpiece (10) is first completely welded (15), and then the welded product is brought under a CCD camera (39); that the inspection radiation (30) is directed at the welded product positioned below the CCD camera (39); and that the image of the welded product detected by the CCD camera (39) is analyzed by image-processing software in the evaluation unit (37) connected to the camera's output.
 8. Method in accordance with any of claims 1 to 7, characterized by the fact that the transparent plastic (18) is slightly or strongly scattering.
 9. Device for carrying out the method in accordance with any of claims 1 to 8, characterized by the fact that the devices for producing (21) and directing (43, 44, 45, 46) the laser beam (20) and the devices for producing (31) the inspection radiation (30) and measuring (36) the exit radiation (33, 33′) are housed in a common processing head (50), such that, although the beam path of the inspection radiation (33′; 53) coincides with the beam path of the laser beam (20) along certain segments, the measurement point (36; 55) of the inspection radiation (33′; 53) at the weld seam (15) is located some distance from the welding point (47) of the laser beam (20).
 10. Device in accordance with claim 9, characterized by the fact that the inspection radiation (53) is the laser beam (20) itself and is emitted by the device for producing (21) and directing (43, 44) the laser beam (20) that is integrated in the processing head.
 11. Device in accordance with claim 9 or claim 10, characterized by the fact that the processing head (50) additionally has a pyrometer (58), which detects the thermal radiation emitted by the weld (47), and that the processing head (50) has a feedback control system, which regulates the intensity of the welding laser beam (20) on the basis of the measurement result in the pyrometer (58). 